31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Week 3 Roundup

Hey there, friends!

The third week has been tackled and all of the hard prompts are left!  I am very happy to have made it through this far.  It hasn't been too bad!  Now last year, I fell off the #31dc2013 wagon on Day 23 (which is tomorrow!!).  So I am even more determined to push on through to the end this year.  The last week of prompts is a little more challenging and requires a bit more creativity to come up with new nail art ideas that you haven't already done this month yet.  But this third week is fun!  The prompts are more specific.  So even if you can't think of some creative twist, you can always fall back on the standard nail art technique for the prompt that day.  Enough blabbing...onto some nail art!

Click through for more nail art fun time!

Day 15: Delicate Print

One of my favorite ways to stamp is to use a delicate floral or abstract print and only cover parts of the nail with it.  I guess I just think it looks artsy.  For this look, I used Essence "Roller Coaster" (a jaded teal with green shimmer) as my base and stamped with MoYou London's Pro 02 plate.  Simple but pretty.

Day 16: Geometric

 I just loved the way these stained glass effect came out!  This was actually my second attempt to create a stained glass effect that night.  The first attempt was so unbelievably fail...I was tempted to post a photo just to show you that we all do terrible nail art at times.  But I only got up the nerve to show it to IndieAmy, then into the trash it went!  For this look, I used four polishes from the Bliss Polish #NGF collection along with a black polish for the lines.  My skin tone is very washed out in this photo, but trying to corrected made the polish colors wrong.  I'd rather you see the true colors of the polishes.

Day 17: Glitter

For this prompt I just did something simple; a glitter gradient.  Or as I like to call them, glitter tips!  This mani had a Christmas feel to it.  I am sure I will bring out this glitter for the holidays this year.  The deep red base is "Forbidden Fruit" by Tillie Polish and the glitter is "Stardust Blush" by Finger Paints.  I sponged the glitter onto the tips using an eye shadow applicator; a cool tip I learned from Gari.  So sparkly!

Day 18: Half Moon

This was my cheat day.  I did this mani a few weeks previously and wanted to use it for the prompt today.  We all get one cheat day, right?  For this look I used Mentality Nail Polish "Rascal" as my base and individually placed silver holo glitter hexes to create the half moon shape.  I love the contrast of matte and shiny bling, don't you?!? 

Day 19: Galaxy

 The last time I did true galaxy nails was for this same prompt last year.  Why did I wait so long?  I used a ton of polishes for this look, so I won't list them all.  I sponged on tiny amounts of each of the colors to create the effect of fluffy clouds of cosmic dust.  You can see my inspiration from my Peterson's Field Guide to Stars and Planets book.  In my next life, I am going to be an astronomer :)

Day 20: Water Marble

 The most widely dreaded prompt of the entire #31dc2014...Water Marble!  Water marbling is tough and has a steep learning curve.  It is hit or miss for me.  But this day was a total hit!  I give all the credit to these amazing neon polishes from Pipe Dream Polish.  You can read my full review here.  It had been going around Instagram that these babies were excellent for water marbling and it was true.  I have never had a water marble go so smoothly.  I particularly like how my thumb came out.  Next time I try this I will attempt to do all the fingers with that placement.  If you want to learn water marbling from the master, check out Corynn at The Mucking Fusser. (two of the neon polishes used were provided for review)

Day 21: Inspired by a Color

My favorite color this year has been coral, definitely coral.  So I decided to pay homage to this beautiful peachy orangey pinky salmon shade with a skittlette.  (It should feel so honored!)  The stunning textured polish is "Joyful" by P2 Cosmetics and the silvery shimmer on my pinkie is "Atomic" by piCture pOlish.  I used Love, Angeline quatrefoil nail shields for the accent nail.  I so love this mani and was very sad when I had to remove it.  It will be done again!! (the nail shields were provided fro review)

I had a lot of fun with these manicures this week!  I think a few of these may go on my 2014 favorites list!  Which did you like the best?  Be sure to check out all the amazing creations from the nail bloggers and Instagrammers out there this month playing along with the #31dc2014 challenge. Check out the tag lists on your choice of social media platform: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  

See you next week!

-Amy "McPolish" McG